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Artworks
SOLOMONIE TIGULLARAQ (1924-2000) KANGIQTUGAAPIK (CLYDE RIVER)
Caribou, 1964stone and wood 7.5 x 12 x 2.5 in (19.1 x 30.5 x 6.3 cm), measurements reflect dimensions with inset antlers;
inscribed with artist's disc number, "E5347".LOT 3
ESTIMATE: $3,000 — $5,000
PRICE REALIZED: $11,400.00
A world record for the artist at auctionFurther images
Son of the famous artist Tudlik and brother of the sculptor Latcholassie of Cape Dorset, Tigullaraq settled in Clyde River in the early 1960s. He created fascinating drawings for Terry Ryan on Ryan’s trip to North Baffin but also a couple of sculptures, including this stunning work, shown in the famous Sculpture/Inuit exhibition of 1971-73.
Caribou is a truly astonishing sculpture, naïve and quirky but also remarkably elegant and sleek. Surprisingly modernist in its overall appearance, it nonetheless exudes incredible charm. The fact that it is Tigullaraq’s first known carving and arguably his greatest masterpiece is almost mind-blowing. It is the opportunity to commune with treasures like this one that makes the study and appreciation of Inuit art so richly rewarding for us. Tigullaraq would become the most important Clyde River carver, with a penchant for eccentric subject matter and sculptural form. See the 2020 First Arts online exhibition A Clyde River Original for later examples of his work.
References: For a bibliographic overview of the artist, see Jean Blodgett, Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983), p. 148-149, and Maria Von Finckenstein, “Salomonie Tigullaraq: One of those Unnoticed Artists,” Inuit Art Quarterly, Winter 2001, Vol. 16, No. 4, p. 38-42. For another caribou by the artist, see First Arts, Toronto, 1 December 2020, Lot 100.Provenance
Ex Collection Terry Ryan, Kinngait / Toronto;
His sale, Feheley Fine Arts, June 1998;
Collection of John and Joyce Price, Seattle.Exhibitions
Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, organizers, Sculpture / Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic, travelling exh., Vancouver, Vancouver Art Gallery, 9 Nov 1971 - 9 Dec 1971; Paris, France, Le Grand Palais, 10 Feb - 2 April 1972; Copenhagen, Nationalmuseet, 26 April - 28 May 1972; Saint Petersburg [Leningrad], The Hermitage, 29 June -23 July 1972; Moscow, Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, 10 Aug - 10 Sept 1972; London, UK, Burlington Gardens Museum, 5 October - 10 Dec 1972; Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Museum of Art, - 24 Jan 1972- 4 March 1973; Ottawa, National Museum of Man, [?]; Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada, 18 May 1973- 17 June 1973, cat. 141;
Toronto, Feheley Fine Arts, The Ryan Collection, May - June 1998.
Publications
Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, Sculpture / Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1971), cat. 141;
George Swinton, Eskimo Sculpture, (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, Ltd., 1965), p. 187.
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